Ladder foot



1952 o. M. GULDJORD 2,520,115

LADDER FOOT Filed Sept. 4, 1951 2 SHEETS--SHEET 1 ATTORNEYS Patented Dec. 2, 1952 Ium'rso :sraras HATE'NT OFFICE r 2,620,115 lumnnnn FOOT "Oscar M. "Guldjord, Seattle, .Wash. Applicationseptember 4, 195I; Seria'l'No. 244,869

zfilaims. (o1..z2s ss) This invention 'relates to an equalizer attachment for .ladders.

.An object of thisi-nvention is to. provide an attachment for mounting on the lowera-ends' of the side rails of aladder wherebythe. ladder may be. levelledor made vertical where the ground .is uneven.

Another object of this-invention is :to provide an attachment of this "kind whichrmay bezrused on either side of a ladder so as to level the ladder.

A further object of this invention is to provide an improved foot for a ladder which will firmly grip the surface on which'the ladder is resting so as to prevent slipping of the ladder.

With the above and other objects in view, my invention consists in the arrangement, combination and details of construction disclosed in the drawings and specification, and then more particularlypointed out in the appended claims.

In thedrawings:

Figure 1 is. a, detailed side elevation of a ladder equalizer constructed accordin'gto an embodiment of this invention.

Figure 2 is a fragmentary sectional view taken on the line 2-4 of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a fragmentary sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of Figure 2.

Figure 4 is a sectional view taken on the line 44 of Figure 1.

Figure 5 is a sectional view taken on the line 5-5 of Figure 1.

Figure 6 is a detailed side elevation of one of the foot members.

Figure 7 is a sectional view taken on the line 1--1 of Figure 6.

Figure 8 is a sectional view taken on the line 8-8 of Figure 7.

Figure 9 is a bottom plan view of the rubber cushion member.

Referring to the drawings, the numeral I designates generally a conventional ladder having a pair of side rails I I and I2 which are connected together by means of rungs l3.

In order to provide a means whereby the rails l I and I2 may be disposed in substantially a vertical position irrespective of the contour or inclination of the ground or surface on which the ladder rests, I have provided an equalizer means as will be hereinafter described. A socket member I4 is adapted to telescope over the lower end of the rail l2 and is formed of front and rear walls l and I6, respectively, and inner wall I1 and an outer wall I8.

The lower end of the rail I2 is adapted to seat in the socket I4, and the socket I4 is firmly clamped to the rail I2 by means of a clamping plate I 91- which. iszloosely" :disposed: within the socket and-is adjusted: inwardly to a clamping position bymeans of a pairof threaded pressure bolts which are thre'adeduthrough the'inner wall IT.

The clamping plate l9is constantly urged outwardly to released position by means of a pair 'of headed pins 2 I: which are slidable through the inner wall I Land aresecur'ed :at their inner ends to the clamping plate "I 9. i A spring His-disposed about each pin ZI andconstantly urgesplate I9 to'the left ortowardi the inner wall I9 and to a. released position.

A vertically disposed tubular guide 23 is fixed relative to the socket I 4 andis disposed inoutwardly offset position relative to socket It by means of aconnecting bracket 2 Q.

A shank or shaft-25 is slidable within the guide 23 and the lower end of the shaft or shank '25 has adjustably secured thereto a foot member generally designated as 26. The guide 23 is formed with a verticallydisposed slot 21 and a plurality of staggered and vertically spaced apart keepers or notches 28 are formed in the guide 23 on opposite edges of the slot 21.

The shaft or shank 25 has projecting from the upper end thereof a right angularly disposed locking arm 29 which is movable vertically within the slot 21 and is adapted to be swung laterally into a selected one of the keeper notches 28.

The arm 29 is threaded and a locking nut 30 is threaded on the arm 29. The nut 3|] has swivelly secured to an annular flange 3| carried by the nut 30 a clamping sleeve 32 which is adapted to bear against the outer side of the guide 23. The outer end of the arm 29 has mounted thereon a knob or enlargement 33 so as to prevent removal of the nut 30 when the latter is rotated to a released position.

A second socket 34 similar to socket I4 is mounted on the lower end of rail I I and includes an outwardly projecting bracket 35 having a vertically disposed sleeve 36 fixed thereto. A shank 31 is fixedly disposed in the sleeve 36, and a cushioned foot member 38 similar to foot member 5? is rockably or adjustably carried by the shank Referring now to Figures 6 to 9 inclusive, there are disclosed the details of construction of the foot members 25 and 38. The details of construction of one of these foot members will apply equally as well to the other foot member. The foot member 26 includes an inverted cup-shaped housing 39 which is formed of a top plate 40 having annular side wall 4|.

The top plate 40 is formed centrally thereof 3 with a downwardly depressed ball socket 42 within which a ball 43 carried by the shank 25 rockably engages. A cap 44 is welded or otherwise fixed within a central recess 45 formed in the top wall 40 so as to retain the ball 43 in socket 42.

A ring-shaped rubber cushion member 45 is carried by an inverted cup-shaped washer 41 which is slidable in the housing 39, and springs 48 within the housing 39 constantly urge the washer 41 and the cushion member 43 down wardly to operative position.

The springs 48 engage about threaded sleeves 49 which extend through the top wall 40 and also are slidable in openings 50 formed in the cushion member 46. The lower end of the sleeve 49' is provided with an annular flange loosely engaging in an opening 52 formed in th ring 46, and the lower end of the sleeve 49 also includes a bottom wall 53 having a central opening 54.

An anti-friction pointed pin 55 loosely engages through the opening 54 and has a nut 56 threaded thereon, which is slidable within the sleeve 49. The pin 55 is locked in adjusted position relative to the slide nut 56 by means of a lock .nut 51. The pin 55 with the slide 55 is constantly urged downwardly by means of a spring 58 bearing against the upper end of slide nut 56 and also bearing against a spring tensioning plug 59 which is threaded into the upper end of sleeve 49.

In the use and operation of this device where the surface to be engaged by the ladder ll] slopes to the right, as viewed in Figure 1, the adjustable shank 25 is disposed on the right side of the ladder with socket l4 clamped to rail i2. Socket 34 is clamped to rail I I. When the rails H and 12 are substantially vertically disposed, the shank 25 may be vertically adjusted so that the foot member 26 will be in contact with the sloping surface. 1

The vertical adjustment of shank 25 is accomplished by loosening lock nut 30, and the shifting arm 29 to the desired keeper notch 28. When arm 29 is in the desired keeper notch 28, lock nut 30 is threaded inwardly so that clamping sleeve 32 will bear tightly against the guide 23 and thereby hold arm 29 against release from the keeper notch 28.

The brackets 24 and 35 which offset the guide 23 and the guide or sleeve 36 laterally from the rails I2 and II, respectively, provide for increasing the width of the bottom of the ladder so that the ladder will have a firm footing on the supporting surface.

What is claimed is:

1. An anti-slipping ladder foot comprising an inverted cup-shaped housing, a resilient cushion member, an inverted cup-shaped retainer for said member loosely disposed in said housing, a spring constantly urging said retainer downwardly, a plurality of sleeves adjustably carried in said member, a plurality of pointed pins loosely projecting through said sleeves, threaded means for adjusting said sleeves to provide for varying the projection of said pins below said housing and means for varying the tension of said spring.

2. The structure of claim 1 wherein said lastmentioned means includes exterior threads on said sleeves, and wherein said pins are carried by spring biased slidable members movably mounted interiorly of said sleeves.

OSCAR M. GULDJORD.

' REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Husted Feb. '7, 1950 

